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I think he makes a very good point.
Here's the post in its entirety if you don't want to click through:
I’ve been thinking some more about the New Yorker dust up and what it says about this campaign. What’s just struck me is how it’s a prime example of the benefits of white privilege – a concept that’s been as heatedly discussed here as the cartoon.
Here’s what I mean by that: this is another episode where Obama’s identity has been dissected in relation to the symbols of American identity, especially god and country. He’s had to continually locate and define himself in relation to the kinds of patterned behavior and images that America defines as “black,” along the way distinguishing or distancing himself from those aspects of black identity that whites might find threatening or objectionable.
By contrast, let’s look at John McCain. Do we even know anything about his ethnicity, other than the fact that he’s a white guy? Where “his people” come from, other than that his father and grandfather were Navy? Or how ‘bout Cindy? We know she comes from money – but, again, who are her people?
Speaking for myself, the answer is: I don’t have a clue. Nor can I recall a single instance where I’ve heard anyone raise the issue of McCain’s racial or ethnic background and what it does or doesn’t say about his faith, his patriotism, his loyalty, morals, politics, etc. And that’s the essence of white privilege. No one bothers to ask such questions of McCain because, well, he’s a white guy. Now, if he were a Jew or a Mormon he'd get jammed on that front – but simply by virtue of his being white he “belongs” in a way that no non-white candidate can “belong” without having first gone through an inquisition. That’s white privilege.
In case you missed this. From Media Matters:
As the cable news channels began filling up valuable airtime Monday with discussions of the appropriateness of a New Yorker cover depicting Barack Obama burning an American flag in the Oval Office, under a portrait of Osama bin Laden, another important story was largely ignored by the mainstream media - that of a veteran media personality injecting racially divisive stereotypes into a discussion of Sen. Obama.
This weekend on The McLaughlin Group, the program's host, John McLaughlin, asserted that Obama "fits the stereotype blacks once labeled as an Oreo -- a black on the outside, a white on the inside."
McLaughlin: "Question: Does it frost Jackson, Jesse Jackson, that someone like Obama, who fits the stereotype blacks once labeled as an Oreo -- a black on the outside, a white on the inside -- that an Oreo should be the beneficiary of the long civil rights struggle which Jesse Jackson spent his lifetime fighting for?"
Call John McLaughlin and demand he apologize on-air during next week's broadcast.
McLaughlin's statement was so obviously out of touch and inappropriate that two members of the McLaughlin panel refuted the basic premise. Panelist and Council on Foreign Relations senior fellow Peter Beinart said: "Who knows what Jesse Jackson is thinking? But that's a completely unfair depiction of Barack Obama."
Later in the discussion, Michelle Bernard, president of the Independent Women's Forum, said: "I want to go back to the point you made about whether or not Obama is an Oreo, because if Barack Obama is an Oreo, then every member of this generation of African-Americans is an Oreo, because we stand on the shoulders of the people who fought for our rights."
Call John McLaughlin and demand he apologize on-air during next week's broadcast.
The all-important weekend political talk shows set the agenda for our nation's newsrooms and the acceptable terms of our public discourse -- McLaughlin's comments weren't just offensive, they were a relic of politics past.
I hope you will take a moment and make your voice heard on this important issue.
here it is close to 3am and I'm recording ANOTHER podcast(this is what I get for falling asleep at 8pm...but it's all good). I guess this is a blessing because I will be very busy starting this upcoming Monday until December because of working my jobs and school so it's best I try and get as many podcasts under my belt. I love relaxing music because it makes me reflect, count my blessings, and appreciate that God has giving me the gift and drive to put these podcasts together.
Kick back and enjoy this 3rd installment of MyLoveForMusic:Twilight Volume 3.
{click here to listen...right click to download}
o1.A Sunday at Home-Ralf Illenberger(Narada Guitar:15 Years of Collected Works)
o2.Dodo-Dave Matthews(Some Devil)
o3.Bermuda Triangle-Artie Traum(Acoustic Jazz Guitar)
o4.Heaven-BeBe & CeCe Winans(Greatest Hits)
o5.West End-Steve Oliver(First View)
o6.Yet Again-Demania[de Grassi/Manring/Garcia](Demania)
o7.Love Lips-Bob James w/Earl Klugh(One on One)
o8.Hands of Time-Groove Armada(Soundtrack Collateral)
o9.Waiting For the Rains-Colin Chin(Circadian Rhythms)
1o.Air for Keetu-Paul Winter(Canyon Lullaby)
11.Frogs On Ice-Mike Marshall and Darol Anger:The Duo Live(At Home And On The Range)
12.Black Waters-The Doobie Brothers(Best of the Doobies)
13.No Wontons for Elvis-Michael Manring(The Book of Flame)
14.A Month of Sundays-Don Henley(Building the Perfect Beast)
15.Sunset Grill-Don Henley(Building the Perfect Beast)
16.Whenever You're Around-Jill Scott/George Duke(The Real Thing: Words and Sounds, Vol. 3)
17.Glory Glory-Wayman Tisdale(Hang Time)
bandwidth provided by ejflavors
shout outs to all of the podcasters that inspire me, push me to do my best so I can bring some of the best laid back music to the masses and to let you(the listeners) know that good music is still being made...you just have to seek it out, you will not be disappointed. 
This from the Assoicated Press:
Another tactic Obama employs is to use McCain's words against him. He reads them aloud, pauses dramatically and chuckles with the crowd before making his point.
"Sen. McCain said, 'Our dangerous dependence on foreign oil has been 30 years in the making, and was caused by the failure of politicians in Washington to think long-term about the future of the country,'" Obama said Friday in Dayton, Ohio.
"I couldn't agree more," Obama said. Then, smiling and in an incredulous tone, he added: "The only problem is that out of those 30 years, Sen. McCain was in Washington for 26 of them!" The crowd whooped and hollered.
Obama also is taking full advantage of the openings McCain presents.
Shortly after a McCain economic adviser dubbed the United States "a nation of whiners" in a "mental recession," Obama took to the stage in Fairfax, Va., on Thursday and used Phil Gramm's comments to portray McCain as out of touch.
"Let's be clear. This economic downturn is not in your head. It isn't whining to ask government to step in and give families some relief!" Obama said. Mixing humor with an attack, Obama added: "America already has one Dr. Phil. We don't need another one when it comes to the economy!"
This audience ate up Obama's criticism of McCain — just like his crowds do every day.
late last night I began getting songs from my library and before i knew i had songs for a podcast and for a change it was pretty cool just going with the flow. Some of the songs you may have heard and they may bring back memories for you. Big shout out to a.new.lis because she really inspired this podcast (you truly have a gift for great music sista...keep doing what ya doing ^_~ )
Enjoy the tunes folks...
{click here to listen...right click to download}
01.Let Your Love Flow-The Bellamy Brothers
02.At Seventeen-Janis Ian
03.Promises, Promises-Naked Eyes
04.Theme from Shaft-Isaac Hayes
05.Around the World-Daft Punk
06.Be Connected-Jackie McCullough
07.De Do Do Do,De Da Da Da-The Police
08.Turn It on Again-Genesis
09.All the Love-The Outfield
10.Jewel-Musrat Fateh Ali Khan
11.Steam Trains To The Milky Way-Danny Wilson
12.WindSurfer-Steve Kindler and Teja Bell
13.Chinook Winds-Chet Atkins
14.Thy Kingdom Come-Special EFX
15.????-????
bandwidth provided by(you know who, the podfather himself)...ejflavors
“Be patient, this gets amazing” (www.thedailyshow.com). Recently The Daily Show ran a segment with that name about how the Bush administration avoided implementing EPA recommendations on global warming by refusing to open the email. This week Dubya et al managed to top that.
It seems there have been many disagreements between the White House and the EPA. The EPA wanted to deal with global warming but Dubya did not (what does he do most days? I don’t think he spends his time working or reading.)
In April 2007 the Supreme Court ruled that the EPA has a duty to regulate greenhouse gasses ‘if they pose a threat to people’s health.” Part of that email that the White House refused to open was a finding that the greenhouse gases do just that. http://news.cnet.com/Supreme-Court-rules-EPA-can-regulate-greenhouse-gases/2100-11746_3-6172658.html?hhTest=1 When the White House finally got around to reading the EPA’s revised proposal, it was too expensive. The EPA tried again and issued a report on the damaging effects of global warming but stopped short of implementing its own recommendations because Dubya thought they cost too much. Rather than do anything, Dubya has decided the government needs more information and has started a ‘comment period’ that will continue for the rest of his presidency. I thought Republicans liked responsibility. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/washingtondc/la-na-greenhouse12-2008jul12,0,2024839.story
There are lots of theories about why this administration has done so much to do so little. I think it is just because it is an issue they don’t care about. If you look at the White House web site, global warming doesn’t even rate as one of the issues they care about. Search for the subject and there are few times Dubya has talked about it.
Today the rule of law, the checks and balances and the rights reserved in the Bill of Rights were damaged as the FISA act was once again altered and retroactive immunity was authorized for law breaking telecoms. A lot has been written about this. I will not add to that.
Instead, I thought I would point out a pair of quiet revolutions that took place over the last couple of years that got very little coverage. I do so for two reasons. First it is worth noting that not all of the battles for civil liberties in the last couple of years have been lost, and second, it is important to realize that major changes both for good and ill can happen with virtually no one noticing.
The day after the Military Commissions Act was passed and habeas corpus damaged, a second important protection was virtually wiped away—Posse Comitatus. If the weakening of habeas corpus dredges up images of King John, Runnymede, and the Magna Carta, Posse Comitatus should put us in mind of Julius Caesar and the crossing of the Rubicon. The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 basically forbids the use of the US military or the National Guard under federal control within the United States. It keeps the government from using the miltary on its own citizens. It is essentially the modern version of the Roman law that forbade the legions from crossing the Rubicon into Italy proper.
The Insurrection Act of 1807, on the other hand, authorizes the use of the military and the federalized militia to deal with lawlessness, insurrection and rebellion within the country. The tension between the two acts defines the ways in which the President may legitimately use the military domestically.
The expansion of the Insurrection act came on the "John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007". Section 1076 of that law rewrote Section 333 of title 10 of the U.S. Code, the Insurrection Act. I wrote a blog posting dealing with the changes a year ago, and also produced a page showing the changes in detail. To summarize quickly, the circumstances under which the President could use the military within the US was expanded from insurrection and rebellion to include "natural disasters, public health emergencies and terrorism", and most alarmingly of all "other circumstances" and left the determination of whether these circumstance pertained to the President.
In short, under the new law, if the President determined that a situation of domestic violence, conspiracy or "unlawful combination" has hindered or obstructed the execution of the laws, and that this is one of those "other circumstances cited in the law, he may federalize the National Guard and use it and the armed forces. This basically made the power to declare martial law and arbitrary power of the President.
The good news is that the "National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008" (HR 4986) which was passed and signed by the President in late January completely undid these changes, and the Insurrection Act and Posse Comitatus have returned to their original balance. The bad news is that it had to be done on the QT. Nearly a year before HR 4986 was passed, Senator Leahy, with the support of Kit Bond, Senator Hagel and 10 Democratic Senators introduces S. 513, a bill that would have done the same thing. It died in committee. Only by burying it in the defense authorization act could they sneak it through.
Civil Libertarians would have celebrated this victory except that it went unheralded, and in fact if you look for news stories about the change which was signed at the end of January, you will find that many are dated at the end of April.
Those of you who paid attention to the Senate debate over the last couple of days on the FISA and telecom immunity legislation will recognize the names of the senators who were willing to stand up for Posse, as sponsors or cosponsors of S 513:
- Sen. Patrick Leahy [D-VT]
- Sen. Christopher Bond [R-MO]
- Sen. Sherrod Brown [D-OH]
- Sen. Robert Byrd [D-WV]
- Sen. Maria Cantwell [D-WA]
- Sen. Thomas Carper [D-DE]
- Sen. Robert Casey [D-PA]
- Sen. Russell Feingold [D-WI]
- Sen. Charles Hagel [R-NE]
- Sen. Mary Landrieu [D-LA]
- Sen. Blanche Lincoln [D-AR]
- Sen. Ken Salazar [D-CO]
- Sen. Ron Wyden [D-OR]
I'm afraid I cannot say what nameless aide put the language into HR 4986. Such is the reality of modern stealth legislation.
We must continue to fight the good fight, just as the three or four dozen senators who voted today to support civil liberties did, just as the sponsors of S 513 did, and at times quietly as the author of HR 4986 § 1068.
As ever, don't believe me.
Research for yourself.
Be a free voice.
Cry for Freedom
I have been away for a little over a month but it seems like a lifetime. The month of June was a trying time for me but a very humbling time...a time for reflection, a time for getting my act together in reference to my priorities and I thank God for his mercy, his grace, my beautiful wife and big shout out to my brother Doug Fresh for his encouraging words. It's good to be able to put together these music selection for it gets me back to my roots when it comes to my podcast. I hope you enjoy the tracks I bring you.
{shout outs from todd kelley, doug fresh, macedonia}
music tracks for your listening pleasure...
{click here to listen...right click to download}
o1. Overnight Sleeper-Acoustic Alchemy
o2. Big Thing-Andy Summers
o3. Epilogue-Di Johnston
o4. Horus Funk-Haze
o5. Sides-Heath Brandon
o6. Chicken n' Waffles-Horace Alexander Young
o7. A Way With Birds-Michael Manring
o8. two voices-Monty Hobson
o9. Stay Up Late-Talking Heads
1o. Apasionado-Tony Guerrero
11. 99-Toto
12. Sunday Afternoons-Vanessa Daou
13. reCAPTCHA-Maju
14. Vacation For Life-Special EFX
bandwidth provided by ejflavors
intro underscore track "testy" by Todd Kelley
outro underscore track "hey" by Nicolay
music from iodapromonet
Di Johnston
"Epilogue" (mp3)
from "Reimagined"
(Undercover Culture Music)
Buy at iTunes Music Store
Buy at eMusic
Buy at Rhapsody
Buy at Napster Stream from Rhapsody
Buy at Pure Tracks
Buy at Amazon
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More On This Album
Haze "Horus Funk" (mp3)
from "Electro Cairo"
(Hybrid Records) Buy at Rhapsody Buy at Napster Stream from Rhapsody Buy at GroupieTunes Buy at mTraks Download More On This Album
Heath Brandon "Sides" (mp3)
from "Stand Clear of the Closing Doors"
(Undercover Culture Music) Buy at iTunes Music Store Buy at Napster Buy at Rhapsody Stream from Rhapsody Buy at GroupieTunes Buy at mTraks Download More On This Album
Horace Alexander Young "Chicken n' Waffles" (mp3)
from "Acoustic Contemporary Jazz"
(Pacific Coast Jazz) Buy at iTunes Music Store Buy at Napster Buy at Rhapsody Stream from Rhapsody Buy at mTraks Download More On This Album
Maju, Sakana Hosomi "reCAPTCHA" (mp3)
from "Maju-5"
(Extreme) Buy at iTunes Music Store Buy at Napster Buy at Rhapsody Stream from Rhapsody Buy at Pure Tracks Buy at GroupieTunes Buy at mTraks Download More On This Album
Tony Guerrero "Apasionado" (mp3)
from "Apasionado"
(Native Language Music) Buy at mTraks Download More On This Album
Vanessa Daou "Sunday Afternoons" (mp3)
from "Zipless"
(Daou Records) More On This Album
In an interview with the Washington Times, McCain's top economic adviser Phil Gramm tells America to suck it up and stop complaining about the economy:
"You've heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession," he said, noting that growth has held up at about 1 percent despite all the publicity over losing jobs to India, China, illegal immigration, housing and credit problems and record oil prices. "We may have a recession; we haven't had one yet."
"We have sort of become a nation of whiners," he said. "You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline" despite a major export boom that is the primary reason that growth continues in the economy, he said.
Are all of you whinning when you buy groceries and gas for your family? Well, stop it. McCain doesn't like it.
- In 2004 41.4% of Georgia voters voted for
ObamaJohn Kerry. Those voters will go Obama.
- Most of the newly registered will vote Obama. The state Democrats are working hard to register new voters and get them to the polls.
- Most independents will vote Obama.
- At least 5% of the GOP will vote for Georgian (Libertarian Party Candidate) Bob Barr or stay home.
- Then there are the Obamacans...Republicans for Obama.
It’ll be close. We have our right wingnuts here who want you to believe it can't happen. Who are they trying to fool? Themselves maybe.
